


Medical Down Time

by Goddess47



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Missions Gone Wrong, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:34:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24234391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goddess47/pseuds/Goddess47
Summary: With a broken ankle and Janet placing Sam on medical leave, what's a poor girl to do but take up her team leader's offer of a guest room?
Relationships: Samantha "Sam" Carter/Jack O'Neill
Comments: 1
Kudos: 44





	Medical Down Time

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nightskythoughts22](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=nightskythoughts22).



> For the Stargate fic exchange on Tumbler for nightskythoughs22. You asked for 'domestic fluff' and, despite the tags, I think it's in there!

It would go down in the mission reports as _a mission gone awry_ , but they were all battered and Sam's broken ankle was the worst of the injuries. 

"While the break isn't a compound fracture, the bone is... I guess getting _fragile_ is the best description," Janet looked at Sam seriously. "You've broken that same bone before and more than once. There's some calcification from those breaks, but that makes every future break more dangerous."

"Will this stop me from going off-world?" Sam asked anxiously.

"Not this time, or probably even the next, but if you don't take it easy, and if you don't do the PT I'm going to prescribe, it will eventually affect your ability to go off-world," Janet replied. "I'm putting you in for a mandatory two week medical leave, starting day after tomorrow. I want to keep you here in the infirmary for another day before I release you."

"But..." Sam started to protest.

Janet held up a hand to stop her. "No 'buts' this time!" Janet said firmly. "You're also exhausted, bruised, and underweight." As Sam stirred, she went on. "And I'll make it three weeks if you protest."

Sam lay back in the bed and sighed. "Okay, okay. I get it."

"You better!" Janet grinned. "Take the time off and enjoy it." She looked around and then looked meaningfully at Sam. "And the rest of your team will be getting one week medical leave, anyway. You've all been pushing too hard and need a break."

"Oh!" Sam said. Then grinned. "That makes it easier to take!"

"I thought it might!" Janet replied with a smile.

Since it was late and had been a long day, helped along with the pain pill Janet had insisted she take, Sam easily fell asleep.

She woke to find Jack sitting next to her bed. She started to reach out for him before she realized where they were. But his eyes crinkled in happiness, so she knew he understood.

"Doc says you're going to be off for a couple of weeks, Carter," Jack said easily. 

"You are too, I understand," Sam replied calmly.

He nodded at her leg. "You going to be able to manage with that?" 

"Stairs at my place will be a bitch for a few days," Sam admitted. "I'll be okay." 

"Come to my place, then," he offered, suppressing a grin. "Guest room and bathroom all on one floor. Least I can do is offer to help you out for the week I have to be off."

"Janet has me off for two weeks," Sam said with a pout. "I don't want to be a bother."

Jack shrugged. "If it's awful, I'll ship you back here." He gave a small grin. "Let's see how the first week goes. Then we can see if you need me longer."

Sam gave a small smile. _Always._

"How are Daniel and Teal'c?" Sam asked. 

Jack waggled a hand. "So-so. Teal'c will make sure Danny gets out of here, so that he gets some down time himself. Teal'c says he just needs to do some serious meditating and he'll be fine. Even Junior needs some help this time, I guess."

Janet came up at that point. "Sam needs some PT today, and multiple meals," she told Jack. 

"She's coming to my place," Jack said. "Easier, since it's all on one floor."

"That's good," Janet grinned. She pointed a finger at Jack. "And make sure you have real food, not just pizza and snacks. You both need some decent meals and could stand to put on a few pounds. You've been working too hard, and need to build up some reserves."

"Huh. I'll have to work on that," Jack admitted.

"See that you do," Janet replied. "Okay, someone from PT will be around after breakfast to get you started and to give you some things you can do at home. I want you back here one week from today to do an in-person PT session and a third session at the end of the two weeks to check on how you're doing."

"I can manage that!" Sam replied. 

As she expected, PT wasn't fun, and Sam was exhausted by the time she got back to the infirmary, although some of that was grogginess from the pain pill. Someone had left a salad and sandwich next to her bed for lunch and Sam ate most of it before falling asleep. 

When she woke, she figured Jack must have stopped by at some point, there was a chocolate bar on the table next to her bed. She ate it slowly, enjoying the treat.

Janet sent her to PT again the next morning, and the therapist gave Sam a printed set of exercises to do on her own. They discussed what 'reasonable progress' should look like and made an appointment for the next week.

Teal'c, looking better already, had stopped by to wish her well. Sam figured Daniel would show up at Jack's at some point.

"Ready?" Jack asked just after lunch.

"More than!" Sam agreed. 

Janet insisted on a wheel chair to get Sam out of the Mountain and made sure she took the crutches she had been given in PT. "Use them!" Janet said firmly.

"I'll make sure!" Jack promised for her.

"Traitor!" Sam smiled.

Someone had brought Jack's car to the gate and Jack left the wheelchair with the airman at the entry. Jack stowed her bag in the back and made sure she had her seat belt on before driving off.

Jack took her hand the moment they were on the highway. 

"Scared the hell out of me," Jack said, giving her hand a small squeeze.

"Scared myself," Sam admitted. "That last man-trap was a doozy and I was glad that we weren't all caught in it."

"Bad enough that anyone was caught," Jack said. "That's another planet for the 'no go' list."

"That's going to be my recommendation, too," Sam assured him. "They really don't want visitors and they've built the defenses to back that up. Good thing there doesn't seem to be anything we need there."

"Anything you need from your place?" Jack asked.

Sam shook her head. "Between what I have and what's already at your place, I should be fine," Sam replied. "I won't need much, anyway, since I know I'm going to spend a couple of days sleeping."

"Sounds good!" Jack grinned.

When they got to Jack's, Sam announced, "The first thing is that I need a hot shower."

"I've got your stuff," Jack agreed. "I'll put away most of it and leave you something to sleep in."

"Perfect," Sam agreed. 

She knew Jack swept the house for bugs while she was in the shower. Jack had originally renovated the shower so he could deal with his bad knee. It had only a small step to get in and a large seat, to allow for a seated shower. Sam took advantage of that, enjoying the warm water on sore muscles.

"Place is clean. No bugs for a change," Jack announced.

"Good, then get over here," Sam demanded.

She put her arms around Jack and leaned in for a kiss. "Been too long!" she breathed. Then yawned. Jack just gave a small laugh.

"Pain pills?" Jack asked, guiding her to the kitchen.

Sam debated. "Yeah. I hate to take them, but just for tonight. Janet said I could take Tylenol as needed once I stop the good stuff. If I'm going to take that, I'll need something to eat since I'm going to sleep for quite a while."

"Good thing I put something in the oven, then," Jack said. "It should be ready in about twenty minutes."

"That'll work," Sam replied. "I can wait that long."

The frozen lasagna wasn't bad, the toasted garlic bread was great, and Sam really didn't care too much, since she started to nod off while eating.

"Ah! I'll take care of that!" Jack said as Sam tried to pick up her dishes. "Anything you need tonight?"

Sam shook her head. "Nothing tonight, thanks."

"I'm not too far behind you," Jack said. "I'm going to check on a few things and call it a night myself."

"Give me a kiss now, then, since I'll probably be asleep by the time you get there," Sam said. Since she just showered, she brushed her teeth and made her way to the bedroom. She tossed and turned a bit to get comfortable with the boot on her ankle. Janet said she needed to wear it except while bathing for the next week. It was going to be an uncomfortable week.

Sam felt more than heard Jack crawl into bed with her, and relaxed even more as he curled around her.

Jack helped her go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, knowing the pills would make her groggy. He steadied her as she went down the hall and waited for her to finish before guiding her back to bed. 

The next time she woke the room was mostly dark, but Sam could tell by the bright light leaking around the curtains that it had to be morning. She wasn't ready to move and snuggled into the warm spot Jack had left behind. He must have just gotten up himself, she thought before falling back asleep.

Needing to pee again finally drove Sam out of the bed. She sat on the side of the bed for a couple of minutes to make sure she could move safely. She hobbled to the bathroom and washed up when she was done. 

She debated only momentarily about getting dressed, and figured it could wait. Sam could smell food and she was hungry.

"Smells good," Sam commented as she made her way to the kitchen.

"Cinnamon rolls out of a tube always are good. And easy," Jack said. "I'll make some scrambled eggs to go with it. I'll do a grocery run later, so think about what you might want to eat for the next couple of days."

"Coffee?" Sam asked.

"Of course!" Jack grinned, pouring her a cup. "No milk, sorry, but I've already put that on the shopping list."

"I've had worse," Sam admitted, pulling the cup toward herself. She wrapped her hands around the warm mug.

Jack laughed. "We all have," he agreed. He leaned in for a kiss. "Good morning!"

Sam leaned into the kiss for a moment. "It is a good morning!" 

Once she started eating, Sam couldn't finish everything Jack had given her. She knew that was the pain med, and the fact that she hadn't been eating regularly for a while. The last couple of missions had been hard and eating regular meals fell to the wayside.

"Okay, shopping list." Jack sat next to her at the table.

"Give me a minute," Sam said, poking at the phone that she evidently had left on the table last night. "Okay, Janet wants us to eat some meals and not just take out. Let's plan on some good take-out for a couple of nights," Sam said. "There are some nice restaurants in the area we should be able to order from and either get it delivered or pick it up."

"Couple of new places in the area I haven't had a chance to try," Jack added. "We can put them on the list and see what we think."

"Sounds good," Sam agreed. "That makes the grocery shopping more for breakfast and snacks, which will be simpler. We can probably eat leftovers for lunch. And, honestly, while we can feed ourselves, neither one of us are that good of a cook."

Jack held up his hands in surrender. "I'm the first to admit that!" he replied. "I make a mean sandwich, but ordering in makes it simpler for both of us."

"And if we find something we like, we'll order extra so we can have it for leftovers," Sam added. "And while Janet says I need to put on some weight, the pain pills are hell on my appetite and it'll take a couple of days before I'm eating too much. So don't go overboard."

"That makes sense!" Jack kissed her again.

With that, it didn't take long to put a shopping list together. Sam made sure to put some fruit on the list for snacking, knowing full well Jack would get chips, even if they weren't on the list.

Jack helped her to the couch, setting up some pillows so she could elevate her foot. He handed her the remote and said, "Good luck finding anything worthwhile."

Sam grinned and shrugged. "I'm going to start with the cooking channel and probably fall asleep. That's the good thing about the food channel, if I miss one recipe, I'll wake during another. And I can't make most of it, so it's pretty mindless entertainment."

"That works!" Jack laughed. He leaned in for a kiss. "Comfy?"

"I'll be fine!" Sam smiled. "Go forage for food!"

"I'll lock you in and I'm setting the alarm," Jack said, eyes serious. "No one should be stopping by, so you should be alone."

Sam nodded. They had too many enemies to not take basic precautions. 

"Go! I'm going to sleep!" she said, snuggling into the couch.

Sam watched one show but, as predicted, fell asleep during the second, which was more of a game show than actually cooking. It was faintly entertaining but it certainly was mindless. She woke briefly when Jack came back and didn't protest when the tv was changed to some sports program. 

Jack put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey! I picked up some soup for lunch and thought you should get up and move around some."

Sam yawned. "Yeah. I won't sleep tonight if I sleep all day." She flailed for a moment. "Help me up?"

"Got ya," Jack said, taking her hand and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Sit for a second to make sure you'll be steady on your feet."

Lunch was minestrone soup and crusty rolls from the bakery. 

"I picked up a coffee cake, since it looked so good," Jack said. "We can have that with breakfast, or just eat it as a snack."

"This soup is good," Sam added. 

Jack shrugged. "The store's added more take home food, so I thought I'd see how that was for today. Soup for lunch, and chicken and pasta for dinner. Oh, and I got a salad, since Janet mentioned eating healthy."

"Sounds good," Sam replied. "If it's as good as this, that will be great."

"Looked good," Jack said. 

Sam ate a small bowl of soup and a roll before calling it quits.

"Soup will re-heat and we can have rolls with dinner," Jack assured her. "Probably easier to eat more often. Let me know when you're hungry and we can deal with it."

Sam nodded.

Just then, Jack's phone rang.

"O'Neill," he answered, then relaxed. "Hey, Danny, how are you?" He nodded as he listened to Daniel talk on. At one point, he held the phone away from them and asked quietly, "You up for any company?"

Sam debated and shook her head. She held up two fingers.

"Sam needs some time," Jack explained to Daniel. "How about day after tomorrow? Will that work for you?" He listened. "Sure thing! I'll get some food and you guys come out for dinner. It won't be fancy, but it'll be good to see you and T."

Jack listened as Daniel went on for a few more minutes before saying good-bye.

"You good?" Jack asked. 

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "Thanks for putting Daniel and Teal'c off, too."

"No problem!" Jack grinned. He finished cleaning up the lunch dishes.

He came around the table and helped Sam stand. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

"I'm just as glad to have some time alone with you," Jack said softly.

"It is nice," Sam said, leaning against him. "How about we take a nap together?"

"Yeah, sure!" Jack grinned.


End file.
